Jamaica Broilers — Branded chicks head for Canada
Jamaican Broilers Group (JBG) indicates that the newly acquired hatchery in the United States has a market of 20,000 for its chicks, including clients in Canada. The company is also eyeing growth in a layer-chick market in the United States valued at US$360 million annually.
On April 5, JBG announced that through its recently incorporated subsidiary, International Poultry Breeders Hatcheries, Inc, it had completed the acquisition of the hatchery assets of Welp Inc in Iowa, USA, on Wednesday March 30.
Production of broiler and Novogen layer chicks commenced on March 31 from the Iowa facility under JBG’s ownership. The Welp Hatchery website indicates that the family owned business, established in 1929, specialisesd in Cornish Rock Broiler chickens, but offered a wide variety of chickens and other poultry.
Ian Parsard, senior vice-president of operations and finance at JBG, said the target market for Welp includes current customers (20,000 retail customers; broiler producers in Canada and the USA) as well as new customers (mainly Novogen layer chicks) in the USA.
He noted, “Welp has an existing strong retail customer base of 20,000 in the USA; the supply of baby chicks to the Canadian market in particular will complement our existing supply of fertile eggs to that market; the layer market size in the USA is US$360 million annually. We expect that this strategic acquisition will allow us to establish a presence in the layer baby chick market in the USA through the supply of Novogen layer birds.”
Parsard said hatchery assets of Welp Inc are expected to generate profits from “day one”. He declined to disclose the acquisition cost and return on investment timelines.
Welp is expected to expand JBG’s US dollar earnings. For the third quarter ending January 2016, the hard-currency earnings for the company’s US operations contributed J$798 million, compared to J$632 million last year.
Parsard said JBG is eyeing additional opportunities in the hatchery and other areas of chicken production, both locally in Jamaica as well as overseas, in the USA and Haiti.
Earlier, he had outlined that $6.2 billion in new funding raised in February was partially intended for expansion.
In Jamaica, the company commissioned a new hatchery in January 2016. Group revenues are $28 billion year to date, compared to $25.61 billion for the similar period in 2015.
